Tag Archive | "baby colic"

Nobody tells the new mothers how to expect the dreadful time when their cute little one has to deal with colic. Mothers feel helpless, despair and become depressed so often during this period and nobody can actually give them a universal cure or solution to make the colic better, help the little one sleep and basically not go insane during the first 3 to 6 months this health issue lasts for new born babies.

Here are the 10 things that might help you cope better with a colicky baby:

You are NOT a bad mother

So many mothers feel helpless when their baby has colic. It is alright to feel sorry for the baby, suffer because he or she suffers but is not alright to blame yourself. It’s not your fault and it has nothing to do with you but rather with your little one surviving skills which make the digestive system go through a period of adapting in the first months.

Know the facts

The colic is the result of both the milk digestion and the way your baby swallows. When babies eat, they tend to swallow the same amount of air and milk with every sucking motion. This happens more often when the baby is very hungry. The amount of air can be burped out through post feeding burping action but don’t assume that burping eliminates all the air from the stomach. During the milk digestion gas is formed which combined with the swallowed air creates pressure inside the baby’s tummy. The bubbles are too big to be eliminated with gas elimination so with the pressure building, the pain appears too. The little one will curl, get red in the face and cry uncontrollably.

In time the baby’s body secretes the enzymes necessary for digesting the food properly and the colic goes away.

Mother’s nutrition is not a factor

When dealing with baby colic, old wives tales will tell you that some gassy foods, like cabbage, beans and related will make the baby gassy if you eat them. Studies have shown that this is not true. Your milk is the result of what your body processes in water and body nutrients and the food you eat is broke into carbs, protein and fat before you produce the milk. Think of this : If the nutrition part is true why do babies fed with formula have colic?

All babies have colic

Be a smart mom and do not believe the fairytales other moms are so eager to tell on forums, that their little one did not have colic. All babies go through the digestive adaptation period so if you hear other moms saying theirs didn’t have anything to do with this health factor you can be sure they are either lying or they simply treated colic crying like a regular hunger crying. This happened because when babies have colic if you put them to your breast, feed them with a bottle or use a pacifier they are distracted and crying stops.

Colic medication helps

Doctors as well as midwives will tell you that nothing really helps with alleviating the colic symptoms. True, however…colic drops and colic herbal tea give a hand with making it easy for the baby. Most colic drops are based on simeticone – a drug able to shrink the size of the air bubbles to facilitate elimination.

The drug is processed through the liver of the little one so respecting the dosage is crucial. Most popular products are Infacol, Sab Simplex and Espumisan. Keep in mind that all products do the same thing so there is no use to try them all.

A more natural approach can be Bonisan by Humana which is plant extract base. The same plants can be found in instant baby drinks for colic alleviation. Make sure you read the label because some of these natural products contain sugar or sweeteners which are not exactly recommended.

Whatever works for others may not work for you

There is no such thing as a universal recipe to deal with baby’s colic. Each human body is unique and so are the digestive systems of the babies. What worked for one baby may not work for yours. Don’t despair because something else might.

Some babies have it worse than others

The baby pain threshold is rather big. You may be surprise to hear this but babies grim and bare a lot of tummy pain before they actually start to scream. However, if some babies are more resilient to pain than others it does not mean they do not suffer. Also, similar to the grownups for some the colic is more violent than for the others. Duration and intensity as well as the times during the day when the colic manifests are also different for each baby.

Mom is the ultimate solution

If all else fails, holding the baby is the ultimate cure. The comfort of his or her mother’s arms is the most powerful cure for baby’s colic. Always remember that your connection to the baby is extremely strong so hold the baby and you will see it will calm down.

Cradles, rocking chairs and pacifiers

There are a large number of tools you can use to sooth the baby during colic time. The cradle motion and swinging of baby chairs but also the pacifiers are all able in one way or the other to help the little one pull through so don’t be afraid to use them.

There is no set duration for the colic manifestation

Most medical personnel will tell you that baby colic passes after the baby turns 3 months old. Not true! Colic may last until the baby is 6 months or even one year old. It may also disappear and come back during diversification. Again, each baby is unique so do not compare your baby to other babies in this department.